Bad Things(92)

“I’ll ask. Just promise me you’ll stay in the car, and I will take care of this. I just need five minutes in there. Can you do that for me?”

She let out a noisy, frustrated breath. “I can. But you have to swear you aren’t going to do anything crazy.”

“I swear. Again.”

The house was easy enough to find, once we got to the street. It was so crowded, some idiots had even gone so far as to park on the lawn.

“This Dig’s house?” I asked Danika, parking several houses away.

“Yes. Be careful in there. He’ll be surrounded by his friends. If something happens, you’ll be outnumbered.”

“I’ll be careful,” I reassured her, stepping out of the car. What I didn’t tell her was that I hadn’t lost a fight in my life, outnumbered or not. I was twice the size of most guys, and knew how to throw a mean punch.

“Five minutes,” I told her before shutting the door.

I barely noticed how the rain pelted down as I went to the house, that text still bouncing around in my brain, making me crazy.

The house was not as packed as I would’ve thought, considering all of the cars parked out front, but the place reeked of pot.

There was a group of skinny white guys passing around a bong on a sofa in the first room, and that’s where I started.

Lucky for me, there was only one Daryl in the house, and I was directed to the backyard by the group of potheads.

“Thanks,” I called, knowing that just the sight of me had scared the paranoid bastards.

The second I stepped outside, I spotted a Daryl in the small covered patio, sheltered from the rain.

He was a skinny guy, covered in tattoos. He had one side of his head shaved, the other dyed black and styled emo. He had silver flesh tunnels in his ears, and a tattoo of a crow covering most of his neck, and he was wearing f*cking skinny jeans. Somehow, I just knew it was him.

He was playing on his phone, and smoking a joint.

My hands curled into fists, and I strode right up to him.

“Daryl,” I addressed him.

He glanced up at the name, reaffirming my suspicions. “Yeah?” he asked, his tone insolent. He had guts, for a tiny little thing.

I didn’t beat around the bush, stepping close, lifting him up by the front of his shirt. I still towered over him. He tried to shake me off, but I barely noticed, letting him get a load of the look on my face. It was really easy to put murder in my eyes. I just had to think about that last text I’d read.

“We’ve spoken before. On the phone. I’m Danika’s friend. Remember me?”

“Fuck you, man!”

He had a nerve, I’d give him that, but that’s all he would get.

I turned, slamming his back into the house. He barely weighed a thing. “I seem to recall warning you to leave her alone.”

“Who the hell are you?” he wheezed.

“I’m Tristan. I’m the guy that looks out for Danika, and I’m going to do you a really big favor. I’m not going to put you in the hospital tonight. I’m feeling nice, so I’m going to give you one more warning. Listen carefully, because I won’t be telling you this again. Are you listening?”

I waited until he nodded.

“No contact. No calls. No texts. Nothing. If you do any of those things, you won’t be hearing from me, you will be seeing me, and I won’t be talking, I’ll be putting your skinny ass into a body cast. Are we clear?”

“Why are you doing this? Are you f*cking her?”

“None of your f*cking business. But hear this, I see any of those dirty f*cking texts again, that’ll be a different story altogether. You’ll be missing a pair when I’m done with you.”

I dropped him to the ground and walked away, because if I heard one more word from him, I’d be breaking my promise to Danika.





DANIKA

I let out the breath I’d been holding when I saw him striding back to the car, five minutes later, as promised.

He got back into driver’s seat, hands going to the steering wheel and clenching. I could tell he was upset by the tenseness in his posture, and that grip on the wheel.

When he spoke, his voice was low and hoarse. “Can you tell me why you stayed with him for so long? I met him for five minutes, and there’s no doubt in my mind that you can do better. Worlds better. You’re a smart girl. Why did it take you two years to figure that out?”